AGREEMENT REACHED ON HIGH SCHOOL ROAD ACCESS

EXETER -- The Cooperative School Board and the Exeter United Methodist Church today announced that an agreement has been reached to provide the proposed new high school with direct, primary road access from Route 27 to the high school site. Their joint statement reads as follows:

“The Exeter Region Cooperative School District and the Exeter United Methodist Church have reached an agreement in principle which will enable the school district to secure primary access off of Route 27 to the parcel of land being proposed for the new high school. The purchase price for this primary access is $300,000. This agreement will be subject to the outcome of the March 11, 2003 vote on the new high school.”

Cooperative School Board Chairman Roy Morrisette hailed the agreement for its significance. “We are very, very pleased to have reached this agreement,” he stated. “This was the last big hurdle we had to clear to put all our plans in place. Providing good road access to the school right from Route 27 has been one of our most important goals since this process began last October. I want to thank Walter Pierce for his many hours of work on this agreement. I’d especially like to thank Pastor Dan Weaver, the church trustees and the members of Exeter United Methodist Church congregation for their willingness to help make this important project a reality. If we are successful, this school will be a legacy we can be proud of for many years to come.”

The access agreed to by the School District and the Church will run from the end of Anna Louise Drive to the southwest part of the proposed school property. The access traces what has been labeled “Access Option #2” on site plans exhibited by the School District and Building Committee in hearings and presentations since December. The road itself will be about 500 feet long and cost approximately $80,000 to build. School officials have kept contingency funds in the $49.9 million budget to pay for this access and road construction, including turning lanes and a traffic light on Route 27, without increasing the overall cost of the project.

“We have worked from Day One to secure direct road access off Route 27, and we built a substantial contingency in the budget to pay for it,” stated Building Committee Chairman Warren Henderson. “Securing this access helps the school project in so many ways. This means that we can efficiently manage traffic to and from the site. We can avoid traffic intrusion into the Old Town Farm Road neighborhood. It means that we can provide a separate emergency access to the site, something we still don’t have at our existing high school, and which our police and fire officials have told us they consider very important for life safety response. It’s really the last major issue we needed to resolve.”

Superintendent Skip Hanson noted the special significance of the agreement. “As we debate the details of the proposed new high school, sometimes the important educational opportunity that this plan represents is overlooked,” he stated. “The folks at Exeter United Methodist Church worked with us to do something good for education and for the future. We are always grateful for this kind of vision and commitment.”

EHS Building Committee

Coop. Board

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